(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for spreading seed, especially grass seed, onto the terrain, and more particularly to a top dresser and to a seeder attachment mountable to a top dresser for dispensing or spreading seed with or without spreading top dressing material for seeding and/or applying top dressing material to the terrain.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Various apparatus exist for applying top dressing to the turf of golf courses, lawns, football, baseball and soccer fields, parks, recreational areas and the like. One example of such apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,952 which is incorporated herein by reference. Further, it is old to provide seeders that rely on gravity (free fall) to move the seeds from the seed hopper to a prepared or non-prepared seed area (ground) and to seeders having a wheel rotatable about a vertical axis for spreading seed that falls from the hopper onto the wheel and thence relies on gravity to fall to the ground. With such seeders, when seeding grassy areas, frequently the seeds will lie on the grass or leaves without any contact with the soil. As a result the seeds do not germinate. In the event the seeds fall on the top of exposed soil, usually the soil contacts only the bottoms of the seed. Accordingly, the germination rate is not as high as desired.
Carrying out the application of top dressing to the terrain in one operation, the application of seeds to the terrain in a separate operation, and the preparation of the terrain and/or moving the seeds and top dressing downward in the terrain in further separate operations are more labor intensive and time consuming than desired, and having to provide separate wheel supported vehicles to accomplish all operations, requires a greater investment in equipment than desired.
In order to obviate problems such as the above, this invention has been made.